Digital Commons Network^™

Ai Interview Helper: A Tool For Assisting Search And Rescue Long-Profile Interviews, Dylan P. Starink

Master's Theses

In Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, time pressure and limited interviewer experience can lead to missed opportunities when interviewing a missing person’s friends and family. This thesis presents a real-time, end-to-end system that provides context-aware follow-up question suggestions as interviews unfold. Leveraging large language models (LLMs) and agentic design patterns, the system is intended to support interviewers by helping them identify relevant follow-up questions and pursue potentially overlooked lines of inquiry.

The system was evaluated through three mock interviews with two SAR interviewer participants across two events. Given the limited sample size, the results provide early insights into the feasibility …

Teaching Multi-Core Architecture: Design And Implementation Of A Cache-Coherent Cpu For Undergraduate Education, Isaac R. Lake

Master's Theses

Modern computing has relied on multicore processors for high performance for nearly two decades, yet undergraduate computer engineering curricula often provide limited exposure to parallel hardware architectures and their design challenges. This thesis presents the design of CPE 433, a course that extends the pipelined and cached OTTER CPU developed in CPE 233 and CPE 333 into a multicore processor capable of running parallel workloads. The thesis documents the architectural changes required to adapt the verified single-core design into a multicore system, including MMIO-based interrupt support, a shared cache hierarchy with cache-coherence mechanisms, and clock-gated modules. It further presents a …

Implementation Of A Line-Scan Camera Triangulation Sensor For A Ball Balancer, Jackson R. Mclaughlin

Master's Theses

Ball Balancer or Ball on Plate systems are used for education and research in control theory. These consist of a plate which can be actively tilted, with a ball rolling on the surface. Students are challenged to model the dynamics of the system and implement a control loop which is capable of stabilizing the ball by actuating the plate.  The mechatronics group at Cal Poly is developing hardware for one of these ball-balancer systems, for future use in the Mechanical Engineering curriculum.

The position of the ball relative to the plate must be measured in order to control and stabilize …

Practice-Oriented Seismic Design And Retrofit For Mid-Story Isolated Buildings, Luke Reilly

Master's Theses

This study reviews the state of the art of MSI and evaluates a practical framework for preliminary design using coupling coefficients. A database of 155 research documents is compiled and classified into analytical, mixed numerical, computational, experimental, and miscellaneous studies. The review identifies major research trends, common modeling approaches, important design parameters, and remaining limitations. In addition, 16 representative MSI building projects are reviewed. These applications show that MSI is most often used for retrofit, vertical expansion, mixed-use buildings, over-track construction, and buildings with major functional or structural discontinuities. The study then examines the Coupling Coefficients (CCs) Method as a …

A History Of The Underground Comix Scene: The Seriousness Of An Unserious Genre, Harris Darcie Shugart

Master's Theses

The Underground Comix Scene of the 1960s and 1970s was born out of an age of censorship. The Comics Code Authority, a regulatory body created by the Comics Magazine Association of America in 1954, established guidelines requiring publishing houses to self-regulate following a recommendation from the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in 1953. Comix with an X, for their X-rated nature, represent an emerging counter-culture in the latter half of the 1960s and the 1970s, with an epicenter of San Francisco. These comix and their artists were not interested in obtaining the looming ‘Seal of Approval’ from the …

Ra Hub: Streamlining Resident Advisor Workflows Through A Mobile App, Samantha Danahe Gonzalez

Graphic Communication

This project explores the need to improve the workflow experience for Residential Advisors (RAs), specifically focusing on polychat logging and event planning workflows that currently rely on multiple disconnected software platforms. This fragmented system creates confusion and makes it difficult to complete responsibilities efficiently and accurately. Survey findings revealed frustrations with tracking tasks, managing workflows, and navigating between systems. In response, this project proposes a centralized workflow system designed to create a more organized, accessible, and userfriendly experience for RAs.

Lidar At Poly Canyon, An Binh Chuong

Architectural Engineering

Poly Canyon serves as a living laboratory that reflects Cal Poly’s “Learn by Doing” philosophy through a collection of student-designed and student-constructed structures. Among these is Fratessa Tower, a reinforced concrete observation tower distinguished by its tripod support system, cable-suspended observation deck, and steel spiral staircase. The tower’s unconventional geometry and exposed structural system present unique challenges for documentation, making it well suited for evaluating modern reality-capture and modeling techniques.

This project focused on creating an accurate as-built Building Information Model (BIM) of Fratessa Tower using LiDAR-based scanning, field verification, and Autodesk Revit. Point cloud data were processed to reconstruct …

Reinforced Concrete Design Fundamentals, Belen Stephanie Martinez Espinoza, Estevan Jacob Perez

Architectural Engineering

Hispanic workers make up a large and growing portion of the construction workforce in the United States; particularly in California, the percentage of construction workers who are Hispanic is estimated to be about 55% as of 2021 (Elkins). Many of these workers are Spanish-speaking, yet there is still a gap between technical engineering design and what is understood and applied in the field. One major reason for this gap is the lack of clear bilingual resources. To bridge the gap, a 48-page bilingual booklet titled Reinforced Concrete Design Fundamentals (Fundamentos del Diseño de Concreto Reforzado in Spanish) was created. This …

Stem Workshops For Pre-K Students, Sofia Berg, Ashlyn Swoboda

Architectural Engineering

This project involved the development and implementation of a four-part structural engineering workshop series for preschool-aged children at the Orfalea Children’s Center at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The workshops were designed to introduce fundamental structural engineering concepts through age-appropriate discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on activities focused on engineering careers, structural shapes, skyscrapers, and bridges. The lessons emphasized concepts such as stability, bracing, structural loading, seismic behavior, and iterative design while encouraging collaboration, creativity, and problem solving.

Throughout the workshop series, students actively participated in discussions, demonstrated enthusiasm for engineering activities, and were able to recall concepts introduced in …

Thousand Hills Pet Resort Deck Design, Kenzie Brown

Architectural Engineering

On-site residential units at Thousand Hills Pet Resort currently lack ADA-compliant access, as entry is limited to small, elevated doorways that are only reachable by stairs. A deck connecting the units and providing accessible ingress and egress was designed for this senior project.

In addition to the ADA requirements, the property is expected to undergo significant redevelopment in the coming years. As a result, the deck design must not only meet accessibility needs but also be adaptable and reusable. The final design is a modular deck structure utilizing a hybrid foundation system that facilitates future relocation of the deck. The …

Design And Implementation Of A Honeycomb Damping System For The 2026 Eeri Seismic Design Competition, Vera Nguyen, Lauryn Wojcik

Architectural Engineering

The authors of this report were a part of the 2026 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) chapter at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. In July 2026, they will travel to Portland, Oregon with 12 students to compete in the Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition hosted by EERI. The competition required teams to develop a comprehensive structural design proposal that included computer-based modeling and analysis, construction of three physical models, and the preparation of both a technical poster and oral presentation for a proposed high-rise building located in Portland, Oregon. Cal Poly’s “Illahee Tower” was designed with an emphasis on …

Caed Shop Entrance Wall Construction, Mason Neil Mitchell, Benjamin Joseph Rohrer

Architectural Engineering

This project involves the demolition and reconstruction of the CAED Support Shop Wall at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. The project was designed as a multidisciplinary project, combining architectural engineering and construction management students who collaborated on the rehabilitation of an existing structure. This project aimed to use “replication” as a means of historical preservation and restoration, specifically in the fabrication of custom CMU members.

Testamentum To Love, Hannah Emmack

Intertidal

No abstract provided.

Completing The Street: Rapid Redesign Of Citywide Road Networks Using Arcgis, Davidson Drake

City and Regional Planning

This paper was written by Davidson Drake, a student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and a volunteer with the City of Pomona Planning Department. The mapping, design, and analysis documented in this paper were produced by the author for the City of Pomona as part of its Complete Streets work. While the work shown here is the author’s own, the broader project would not be possible without the efforts of Karla Foster and Max Pastore, who contributed key components to the project.

Pomona’s Complete Streets project represents an ambitious effort to rethink the city’s street network as …

Artificial Intelligence In Higher Education: A Snapshot In Time Of Faculty Perspectives And Institutional Adaptation, Alexander Levine

Journalism

The purpose of this research is to examine where higher education currently stands in relation to artificial intelligence, how it arrived at this moment, and where the future may be heading. More specifically, this study seeks to document a snapshot in time of how faculty members, university administrators, and educators perceive the role of artificial intelligence in higher education and how they believe it may shape the academic landscape moving forward.

By examining how artificial intelligence currently influences teaching, learning, and institutional decision-making, this study aims to create a record of perspectives during a period of rapid technological change. As …

Early Dementia Tracking Utilizing Virtual Reality, Gabriel Deguzman, Manuel Hernandez, Ryan Iglesias, Jose Ornelas

General Engineering

This project aims to create a simulation in virtual reality that replicates an activity that older adults are familiar with and presents an objective for the user to complete. The simulation will monitor the user’s cognitive functions based on their performance. The functionality of the designed program includes, but is not limited to: continuous tracking of cognitive behavior, skipped steps, and completion times. The program will take in relevant data and provide results on the monitored tasks and give the user a conclusion for further action. The application of this simulation will not be used as a medical device or …

Chainlink Mobile Application, Katherine Davenport

Graphic Communication

Currently, ChainLink exists only as a physical card game, creating an opportunity to expand its appeal as Gen Z and college students increasingly spend more time on digital devices than engaging with traditional games. This shift is reflected in the growing dominance of mobile gaming over physical formats. By developing a mobile version, Viral Studios can improve accessibility, reach a wider audience, increase engagement, and create future opportunities to adapt additional games into digital experiences.

Microbial Literacy, Equity, And Sustainability At Cal Poly: A Policy Framework With University Housing As A Pilot Case, Joseph B. Fewel

Biological Sciences

Microorganisms play a fundamental role in human health, environmental systems, and the functioning of built environments, yet they remain largely absent from sustainability and public policy discussions. This project proposes a framework for integrating microbial literacy, equity, and health into institutional decision-making, using California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) as a case study and university housing as a pilot site for implementation. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature in microbiology, public health, environmental justice, and sustainability, as well as policy analysis and stakeholder interviews, this project examines how campus systems, including housing, ventilation, sanitation, food systems, and waste management, shape microbial exposure …

Bridging The Divide: How Political Polarization Shapes Communication Among College Students, Kylie C. Gaynor

Communication Studies

The following study employed Social Identity and Affective Polarization theories to examine how political disagreement influences students’ willingness to engage in open dialogue within higher education during a time of polarization. This study employed a simple survey distributed to a sample of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students from all colleges. The Qualtrics survey included multiple-choice questions assessing students’ political affiliation and examining how these affiliations influenced their willingness to engage in communication with individuals holding differing views, as well as their openness to developing deeper interpersonal relationships. The survey results were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The results concluded …

Wind Power Turbine Pitching, Sierra Bindseil, Olivia Hoffsis, Izik Hingeley, Tucker Donahue

Mechanical Engineering

It is crucial that wind turbines are able to control the angle of their blades relative to the wind for optimal performance, efficiency, and safety [1]. This project will design a pitching mechanism for the Cal Poly Wind Power turbine that will compete in the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). Currently, for full scale wind turbines, the industry standard design includes the pitch of each blade being controlled by its own individual motor [2]. Because of the smaller scale of Cal Poly Wind Power’s turbine, along with power usage constraints, three separate motors are not a practical approach. Cal Poly Wind …

Accessible Rolling Garden Box With Automated Watering System, Lucas Meneghetti, Gabe Haarberg, Alex Seybold, Matthew Podgorski

Mechanical Engineering

Students in the Special Day Class at Oceano Elementary School face challenges participating in traditional gardening activities due to mobility and accessibility limitations. To address this need, a wheelchair-accessible Rolling Garden Box was designed and constructed to provide an engaging, hands-on learning experience that promotes independence and cause-and-effect learning. The system consists of a wooden box supported by a steel frame with locking caster wheels, a switch-activated irrigation system. Adaptive button controls allow students to activate visually engaging sprinklers while interacting with plants and soil. The final prototype successfully met all design requirements for accessibility, mobility, durability, and watering performance …

Cal Poly Fluid Powered Vehicle Challenge 2025/2026, Ethan Malachi Nejame Zeiset, Christian Anthony Cuamani, Daniel Chacon-Bizarro, Marcus Minera, Bradley Hansell

Mechanical Engineering

In this Final Design Report, the Cal Poly Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge Contending Team competed in Sun Hydraulics’ 2026 Fluid Powered Vehicle Challenge. The objective of the competition is to expose college students to the fluid power sector, the “hidden giant” of the engineering industry. Specifically, student teams are tasked with the development of a human-powered, fluid-driven vehicle for use in various competitive settings. The team prioritized the optimization of an existing prototype for simplicity, ease of maintenance, and reliability during the competition. The existing prototype exhibited issues related to the main frame’s deflection under load, a lack of gear …

Off-Grid Cabin Hydroelectric Generator, Keller Feltman, Lance Savatgy, River Perino, Jesse Valencia

Mechanical Engineering

This project developed a portable hydroelectric generator intended to provide low-power electricity generation for an off-grid cabin in Alpine County, California. The system was designed to utilize naturally occurring creek flow to generate electrical power while remaining portable, durable, and environmentally conscious.

The final system consists of an axial-flow turbine, belt-driven generator subsystem, waterproof electronics enclosure, aluminum support frame, and integrated wildlife protection screening. Engineering analysis was performed to estimate hydraulic power availability, turbine performance, drivetrain requirements, and component lifespan. These analyses guided the selection and development of the final design.

Throughout prototype testing, several design modifications were required. Initial …

Elastic Actuator For Robotic Leg, Bruce Berg, Allan Pham, Madeline Slater, Sofie Zalatimo

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Legged Robots Group (CPLRG) is developing a 12 degree of freedom robot with the goal of eventually performing highly dynamic movements such as jumps and flips. During such movements, large impact forces will be experienced by the leg, potentially resulting in damage to physical components such as the motors. The scope of this project is to integrate elastic elements into the quadruped legs to reduce shock loads on the motors and improve the efficiency of the legs through energy storage. The key stakeholders for this project are Professor Charlie Refvem and Dr. Simon Xing. Other stakeholders include …

How Modular Construction Techniques Can Be Beneficial To The Nuclear Construction Industry, Samuel Lawrence Maurer

Construction Management

Nuclear energy will soon be needed to supply sustainable and clean power to companies that work with Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing. Across the world, lots of large-scale nuclear power plants that have been recently constructed have had many issues, such as cost overruns, schedule delays, permitting issues, and more. The purpose of this project is to examine how modular construction, specifically in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), can positively impact the nuclear construction industry and potentially reduce some of the common issues that these large-scale nuclear power plant projects typically face. The findings suggest that the use …

Skip The Grid 2026: Off-Grid Power For Hopi And Navajo Families, Xanthus Aurelius Poole Silverstein

Construction Management

Skip the Grid is an interdisciplinary service-learning project that provides sustainable energy solutions to families with school-aged children living in the Navajo and Hopi Nations. In March 2026, a team of 23 students from five academic disciplines at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) partnered with Heart of America, SOLV Energy, and NextPower to complete the fifth year of the program. The project's purpose was to improve quality of life and support educational success by providing reliable access to electricity, lighting, and refrigeration in underserved communities. Participants were organized into five installation teams consisting of Cal Poly students, faculty, industry …

Improving The California Boulevard Railroad Underpass: A Feasibility Study Of Persistent Barriers And Practical Improvement Strategies, Jacee D. Carpenter

Construction Management

The California Boulevard railroad underpass in San Luis Obispo has served as an informal pedestrian route for Cal Poly students since pedestrian access across the adjacent railroad tracks was restricted in 2009. Despite its frequent use, the underpass presents challenges related to lighting, drainage, surface conditions, and seasonal flooding that affect safety and accessibility. Previous studies documented these concerns and proposed improvement concepts; however, no significant physical improvements have been implemented. This project evaluates the factors contributing to the lack of improvements and examines practical strategies for enhancing the underpass within existing regulatory, environmental, and jurisdictional constraints. Methods included a …

Trace: Temporal Rhetorical Analysis And Consistency Evaluation For Legislative Speech, David Hernandez

Master's Theses

Legislators frequently discuss the same policy issues across multiple hearings and legislative sessions, sometimes maintaining consistent positions and other times modifying or reframing their stance over time. Understanding how these positions evolve is important for analyzing political discourse and democratic accountability, yet identifying such shifts at scale remains difficult.

We introduce TRACE (Temporal Rhetorical Analysis and Consistency Evaluation), a system built on the Digital Democracy Database (DDDB) for detecting rhetorical inconsistency in California legislative hearing testimony. TRACE organizes utterances into speaker-anchored timelines indexed by bill and session, then applies hybrid semantic retrieval — combining dense BGE embeddings with BM25 lexical …

City Farm Slo Brooding Box, Jon Travis W. Black

Construction Management

The Brooding Box Project, completed by a California Polytechnic State University Construction Management student, aimed to provide additional chicken housing and secure storage for City Farm SLO, a local nonprofit farm located in San Luis Obispo. Led by Travis Black under the guidance of Shane Lovell, one of the farm’s caretakers, the project combined basic, hands-on construction skills with community service. Using the client’s initial design concept and purchasing the required materials independently, the project focused on durability, functionality, and cost-efficiency. Since the project was self-funded, careful budgeting and material selection were essential to ensure structural integrity while meeting the …

Construction Of Lightly Reinforced Concrete Walls And Foundations For Fiber Reinforced Polymer Testing, Aidan D. Seed, Coulter Langmaid, Ryan R. Bousfield, Bennett B. Steiger

Construction Management

This paper details the construction of two cast-in-place concrete walls with attached footings, built to continue ongoing research into Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) retrofitting conducted by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Architectural Engineering (ARCE) department. The project was located inside the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) High Bay testing facility and is part of a multi-year effort to evaluate FRP wrap as a seismic retrofitting option for lightly reinforced concrete walls dating to the pre-1980s. Formwork from the previous year's senior project was reused for this effort, and a two-phase pour was utilized and executed by …